Hockey's Carolina Hurricanes fire head coach Kirk Muller

The Carolina Hurricanes fired head coach Kirk Muller and several other coaches on Monday.

According to Fox Sports, assistant coaches John MacLean and Dave Lewis were also fired. Greg Stefan, who had been the goaltending coach, was reassigned to the pro scouting department. Assistant coach Rob Brind’Amour will continue to stay with the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes' general manager Ron Francis said in a statement, "We thank Kirk, John and Dave for their time and effort during the past three seasons. Kirk and his staff worked very hard, but we feel that the team is in need of a fresh start at this time."

Before he was a coach, Muller was a player. He played from 1984-85 to 2002-03 and played in 1,349 games for the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars, and Florida Panthers. In the 19 years he played hockey, Muller was on six All-Star teams.

Muller hadn’t been a head coach in the National Hockey League before. He was coaching the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL when the Hurricanes hired him during the 2011-12 season. He replaced Paul Maurice.

In three seasons with the Hurricanes Muller had a 80-80-27 record and didn’t make the playoffs in those three years, according to the Associated Press. The Hurricanes haven’t made the playoffs since 2009.

This season, they finished 13th in the 16-team East. They have failed to make the playoffs in seven of the eight years since they won the Stanley Cup in 2006.